Stephen J. Rossetti

Fr. Rosetti spent much of his life working with troubled priests and religious. He saw a wide array of personalities and behaviors and he brings that all to bear in this book. It is addressed primarily to priests, but is useful for anyone that wants an idea of some of the struggles priests face in their daily lives. Fr. Rosetti does three things; he points out challenges in the current cultural climate that need to be addressed, he points out areas of a priests' personal life that need to be addressed, but most importantly he speaks of the joy and gratitude with which the priestly life must be lived.

A Tragic Grace is a direct, honest look at a difficult subject: child sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. It includes the latest pastoral and psychological insights coupled with the author's original research. It documents this "sustained crisis" in the Church and offers concrete suggestions on how to understand and deal with the subject. Most importantly, A Tragic Grace offers a vision of hope. Within the seeds of this tragedy, the author sees the possibility of a stronger, more open, and accountable Church emerging.

In his groundbreaking study, Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti, the leading American authority on the Catholic priesthood and former director of the Saint Luke Institute, finds that American priests enjoy an extraordinarily high rate of happiness and satisfaction, among the highest of any profession. Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti, a psychologist, professor of pastoral studies, and the bestselling author of books for priests, recently conducted the most comprehensive survey of priestly happiness and spiritual lives ever undertaken. Contrary to popular media portrayals, Rossetti finds that priests, as a group, are very happy men. They like the priesthood and are committed to it. In fact, 92 percent say they are happy in their ministry, among the highest rate of satisfaction of any profession in the United States. This accessible, fascinating study compares priests to the general male population with respect to human intimacy, sexual difficulties, burnout, psychological problems, physical health, and self-care. It identifies fourteen factors that contribute to happiness among priests, examining the contribution of spirituality to their psychological health. Rossetti's cutting-edge, hopeful work will be a must-read not only for priests, but for anyone interested in the priesthood and the Church.